Hearing God? Really?? Sure you got the right guy God?

Wow, I've got a blog? They will let anyone in here won't they!

...Isn't it amazing how God works! I mean, I wish I really understood even just a part of it, but I am continually blown away at how HE puts people together. How the God of the universe plans everything in His perfect timing! WOW!

... HERE IS MY STORY...

About six years ago, Michelle and were living in the Lawrence Ks. area and loving it. Our church was awesome (plug for Lawrence Wesleyan if you are in the area), but all of the sudden things began to change. We were young and only out of college for a couple of years. We made too much money for couples our age, and then Michelle decided she needed a career change.

That change led us out of civilization (defined as having at least one Walmart, Target, Brewery, and MLB team within 1.5 hours... you get the idea) to Attica Ks. Attica is a "poke and plum" town as my Dad says. If you poke your nose around the corner, you are plum out of town! We both took jobs with the school, and God took away my passion for coaching baseball.

What seemed to hurt the most was losing our church family in Lawrence. We struggled for a couple of years then about three years ago found a great church. We began to develop a new church family and some very close relationships. Then He did it again! I began to see some things that looked unhealthy in the church... my friends started leaving one by one... and what was worse was that it seemed that nobody in the church really cared! I was actually told that it was "cyclical", that these things happen, but the people tend to come back eventually.

What's wrong with this picture? Hurting people were and continue leaving churches all over the country and it seems like not too many people are upset about it, or they just assume that they left for petty reasons like the music or something lame like that. Come on ... really? Is the worship music really to meet the needs of the congregation or is it for Worshiping God? If Amazing Grace is done with a hand bell choir, as long as it is done with the right heart for God, then it is worshipful of Him! THAT DOESN'T MEAN I AM A FAN OF THE MUSIC OR STYLE THOUGH!

We prayed for God to close the door if it was His will for our place in that church and sure enough, it was overwhelmingly clear that he did! The next weekend, Michelle and I started the "Church Research Tour/08" as we call it. For the next three and a half months, we went to many churches within about a 100-150 mile radius. God had put the crazy idea of starting a church in our hearts and also in another couple who had done the same type of "tour" before we did.

Some of these churches were a little different, but they all had one common denominator... they had "It" as Craig Groeschel from LifeChurch.tv puts it. We could feel the presence of God the moment we walked into the buildings these churches meet in. In these places, we could feel that the people were actually doing life together and not just showing up to see and be seen on Sunday. A genuine sense of community by people who love God in everyplace we went. The thing that I think I learned most from this "tour" was that I had been so wrong about how I viewed church and how things in churches should be done.

Here are some of the awesome things we observed and learned:

1. A guy smoking on the front steps of the church only to find out that he was one of the worship

team members! Not only that, but previously, he was playing the bar scene (not as a

christian), but when the pastor asked/hired him to play in church, he saw the impact and was

changed!

2. At offering, people were told it was ok to make a withdrawl in the collection plate if they really

needed it! Afterall, it is God's money anyway!

3. Almost everywhere we went, it seemed like someone knew someone we knew. God created

a network system for us!

4. Many of the messages that we heard the pastors teach were all very similar in theme! God

wasn't wasting a thing!

5. God helped us realize that starting a church wasn't such a crazy thing afterall! I mean, think

about it... people started every church in your town at some point didn't they?

So here is where we are... God has assembled a team of people in Anthony Ks. who have gone nuts and started a church. We have officially been meeting for four weeks tomorrow and know that we are doing the right thing. Don't get me wrong, nothing about this is easy or comfortable, but we find strength in knowing that we are working on something with purpose and vision to meet the needs of people in Harper County and the surrounding area.

The only time another church is not needed is when all the people are saved!

~Jason